Smite

by J Moon

  Chapter Forty-Three

  War raged rampant in the Heavens as the strikers,and enforcers joined League ranks in the sky. Though only a few in numbers, the League fought with an unmatched merciless fervor that allowed them to slaughter the archangels by the dozens.

  The archangels had underestimated the cyborgs and for that, they had lost their hold at the gates. Moving in one flawless unit the League had punched through SMITE defenses and made their way into the very command center of Heaven, exchanging gunfire in the hall of ascension.

  A holy battle spirit made Raphael’s ears ring with fury. He was holding a cover position behind the elevators with a small squadron of twelve. So many of his brothers and sisters had fallen at the hands of the League, and he knew much more would fall if he didn’t give the tech team enough time to raise defenses. Nia had not only shattered the gates of Heaven, but she had also disabled SMITE defenses with her blast.

  Gunfire had begun to slow down and curiously he peered out of cover to see why. Bullets shot at his head as soon as he ducked out, so quickly Ralph tucked back in, cocked his gun, peered out of cover again, and sunk two bullets into the heads of grunts.

  “What are they doing?” Ralph shouted out to the other side. His chest heaving as he leaned against the wall. “I can’t see!”

  Jeremiah was leading the other group. He leaned over then shouted back to Ralph. “Seems like they are bringing in a heavy weapon.”

  Whatever it was, Ralph knew it wasn’t going to be good. With curiosity making his trigger finger twitch, he leaped out of cover to see what the League forces were up to.

  “Bring in the centurions!” One grunt commanded to the rest.

  Ralph’s halo almost fell to the floor as he watched the grunts roll in two League centurions, both still in their stationary forms. If the centurions joined the fight, then SMITE would surely fall within minutes. With little to no time to think, Ralph shouted to Jeremiah and crew “Cover me!”

  Three grunts escorted each centurion. Ralph rushed at them guns blazing with his sharpshooter matrix activated, he landed headshots on all three grunts escorting the centurion on the right, he turned his gun on the left and heard a maddening click, the sound of an empty barrel.

  With no hesitation, he dropped the gun, and reached for the spear on his back. With grunts on his left in sight, he became the wind itself, spear raised, dodging bullets as they came his way. He leaped into the air, cocked one hand, threw and sunk the spear dead into the chest of a grunt.

  It toppled back but before it could hit the ground, he pulled his spear out, slashed another who tried to charge him from behind, then he turned to take out the last but it was shot down by his back up.

  “Take them out!” Ralph commanded as he drove his spear directly down the center of the still stationary centurion. He looked over to the other who had already started to transform into battle mode.

  Jeremiah and the other archangels came out of cover to shoot down the cyborg before it could grow to its full deadly potential. It had only managed to grow to an adult six feet before it started to crumble as bullets shredded its scarlet red armor.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Jeremiah said as he dropped his guard.

  Ralph turned to his brother. “Now we only have to sweep the front gate. By that time defenses should be back online,” he said breathing heavily. As the words left his lips, every hair on his arms stood up and the SMITE matrix alarmed danger.

  White lightning crackled and a full squad of Enforcers appeared into the ascension hall. They all raised their hands, and dark energy curled into their fists.

  Ralph knew what was coming next, so he leaped for cover as energy balls lit up the ascension hall and went in every direction.

  When Ralph made it to the other side, he checked himself and thanked the Creator he hadn’t been hit. “Pull back!” he shouted to his squad. Then he leaned over to see that they were all dead, probably before he hit the floor.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Gabe laid sprawled on the ground aching in pain, silver seeping out of every crevice. With his face turned up towards the sky, he could see the blood of his brothers and sisters. Gunshots rang out all around him along with the screams of men. His spirit was being pulled in multiple directions as his mind flooded with heart-stopping worry. He was needed by his comrades in both Heaven and earth. The Shepherd’s artillery would only hold up for so long, as more League cyborgs marched towards the seal, and it would only be a matter of time before everyone who stood in their way was annihilated.

  He needed to get up.

  Renewed purpose entered him as he thought about everyone who would die if Legion was allowed to reach victory. One by one he pulled the blades out of his chest, groaning in pain, and spitting out silver essence. Then the archangel rose gingerly to his feet, gasping and spitting. He limped his way towards gunfire and bright lights. As he focused his mind on an impossible victory, his strength numbed the pain that his body felt.

  The fight raged around him as he limped out of the woods. Thick humid air filled with shotgun blasts and the screams of Shepherds as the cyborgs overcame them.

  Gabe simply stared for a second, witnessing the destruction at the merciless hand of the League. There was a body slumped by his feet, one of the Shepherds. Gabe knelt beside the body, felt for a pulse and found nothing. He surveyed the field, and found Colonel Brown leading a charge to guard the Ascension key.

  Colonel Brown and Major Rhodes did their best to uphold defense against the ascension key, but the number of League cyborgs were increasing by tenfold. As a group Langston, Zora, Josephine and Dr. Miracle still struggled to deactivate the Ascension key while Nia did what she could with no clue on how to unlock the power of the staff. A shrill whistle cut through the air as two centurions dropped down with a thud and began to transform.

  “Get out of our way," Legion commanded as he strolled towards the ascension key. “The League will crush you in our might like ants.”

  In a matter of seconds, the Centurions transformed to a deadly battle formation, and once they opened fire, everyone scrambled out of the way. Colonel Brown found cover behind a bulldozer along with Betty Tate and Major Rhodes.

  Colonel Brown turned to Major Rhodes. “I need you to get her out of here. I have got to bring those two tanks down” The old man tossed the empty guns to the side and pulled out three grenades from his waist. He leaned over and scanned the metal littered battlefield for Langston and the others.

  “Hey, Mr. Poet have you found a way to shut down that damn key?”

  Langston shot a confused look to Zora. She nudged him over to answer back. “No, but we think we can pull something off.”

  “Good, because I’m only going to give you one shot,” he shouted back.

  Betty Tate’s chest tightened with fear. “Colonel, what are you doing?”

  “I’m about to save your life, and maybe everyone else in this world. Don’t let me down.” He said in a rugged grit.

  “You can’t,” she protested. “There is another way let’s just think about this.” Tears walloped in her eyes as she thought about losing the only man she knew to be her father. “Ernest, I can’t lose you too.”

  “Sir, let me do this!” Major Rhodes shouted.

  Colonel Brown ignored him as he kissed Betty’s cheeks, and held her hand in his. “Don’t mourn me kiddo. Fight on in my name.” With those last parting words, he ran towards the centurions, managing to get a good distance close, while Major Rhodes provided cover. He snapped and threw the grenades at their feet.

  “This how I always imagined going out. In a blaze of glory. See you bastards in hell,” he said as he unloaded. Swirling, the gravel danced all around him as he was shot through several times. Many bullets rattled his body, severing it, grinding it. Before his body could fall to the ground, the grenades detonated and the Colonel’s last thought was, carry on Betty Tate.

  The explosion toppled almost everyone in a five-foot radius. As the
flames licked the sky from the debris, Nia made her move. “Come on Pops just hold on,” she murmured as she used the staff to usher them along. She looked for a response but heard nothing, and that made her even more frightened.

  Nia approached the woods and heard footsteps.

  Two enforcers revealed themselves out of the darkness, and raised their hands. Nia stared at death itself as dark energy curled into the cyborg's hands, and instinctively she threw herself sideways. Landing on the ground with a hard thud, she felt a shock, small electrical, yet painful on her left shoulder. The energy blast missed her by inches, and burned a hole through the right side of her dress. She got up, tugged at Pops, and dragged him the opposite way.

  “Gabe help!” Nia called.

  Both Legion and Gabe looked over at the sound of Nia’s cry. The archangel was inches away from the demon, and as the demon made a move for the ascension key, Gabe attacked. His holy battle fury kicked in as he materialized his halo, tossed and threw it at the demon. It managed to successfully slice through Legion’s left shoulder.

  The demon spun around slowly, angered beyond measure, as sparks flew out of the wound. Gabe was on him in seconds, summoning every bit of strength he had left to prevent Legion from causing harm to end this battle.

  Dr. Miracle looked for Langston as he hid safely behind trees. “Langston you have to go now. Shut down that key or we are all doomed!”

  Langston leaned over uncertain and afraid, “I can’t!” he declared.

  “Go!” Dr. Miracle cried, then his blood went ice cold as he heard a footstep behind him. Fear made his heart slam into his chest, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Dr. Miracle turned around and came face to face with an enforcer.

  Slowly the enforcer raised its hand and uttered one word. “Annihilate!”

  “Oh dear God!” Dr. Miracle cried out, as he scuttled in the dirt with nowhere to go. He looked around for help but finding none he shouted, “Someone help me.”

  The enforcer charged a ball of dark energy in its hands and Dr. Miracle covered his face preparing for the worst. Suddenly something miraculous happened. The enforcers charge pack began to overheat, sparks crackled the enforcer’s back, and its energy ball misfired and consumed the cyborg. Dr. Miracle deflected death’s touch slightly by a fraction, by a hair’s breadth and he thanked the Heavens.

  “That’s what I call a blessing,” Zora shouted as she scrambled clumsily to her feet, ushering Langston towards the key. Langston looked at her with uncertainty feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  “Do we really want to go back over there with all of this shooting?” Josephine asked as she followed daintily along.

  Zora looked behind, “Yes, we have no choice.”

  “You can do this,” Zora encouraged. “I don’t know any other man with a pure heart that’s better with words. Speak from your heart.”

  Langston took a long aching breath and then turned to the seal. “Oh Lord, please let the bloodshed end. Gather up in the arms of your pity. The sick, the depraved, the desperate, the tired, all the scum of our weary city gather up in the arms of your pity. Gather up in the arms of your love—Those who expect no love from above.” Once the last words left his lips the seal stopped glowing.

  Zora smacked him on his back as Josephine kissed his check, swinging on his neck. “You did it. I know you could”

  At once Legion turned to see the seal of Ascension deactivated. “No,” he murmured to himself in disbelief. “This is unacceptable.” Things had gone wrong, Legion realized. His plans had come to nothing, thwarted by Gabriel, and so he decided to unleash the full fury of the League.

  His fury came marching through the woods with an uncanny savagery, their footsteps causing a quake from their numbers.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Annihilate them all, Legion said, so cold, so casually, that it took Nia a second for her to process the danger. The demon’s command swept over the League network, and all at once they rose from their tomb and marched to destruction. They came by the hundreds in strict military fashion, marching with the weapons raised and not only to the seal, but towards the center of Harlem as well.

  Dark energy curled into an enforcer’s hand as he stalked Nia. Gabe’s reaction was automatic. He hurled himself in front of her, and his smartwatch shield activated, the attack was deflected.

  Nia gasped, and turned to the archangel. “Gabe what are we going to do?”

  “It’s too many of them.” He looked over to her with solemn eyes. “You have to use the staff.”

  League cyborgs of all colors closed in on them, even the ones who had already fallen began to rise with their armor in shambles, but their eyes burned red with vengeance.

  Nia knew she had to do something. If she didn’t stop the demon then he would surely kill them all. She took hold of the staff.

  “Stop!” She yelled at the top of her legs. The skies rumbled, and the Heavens released a lightning bolt that came cascading down hard. The image of it looked like the hand of God himself.

  A black bolt of lightning had hit the top of the staff, and then darted squarely in the chest of each cyborg, knocking the wind out of them and sending them airborne.

  Gabe looked down at Legion and claimed his head with Lucy. “Alright Nia!” he shouted, later feeling the pain of his voice.

  A radio crackled. “Beta team what’s your position?” Major Rhodes asked.

  “We have found the civilians, and planted the bomb,” Conyers responded.

  Major Rhodes answered back. “How is the team looking?”

  “We’ve taken heavy loss and-” suddenly his voice was cut off by a roar.

  Major Rhodes cursed to himself. “Conyers what’s going on?”

  “There’s a beast ripping through the team. It’s trying to escape!”

  Betty Tate turned towards Gabe. “We have to get those people out of there.”

  “Quickly everyone let’s go” said Gabe urgently. “Nia you, Josephine, and your dad ride with me. Everyone else rides with Major Rhodes.” The archangel turned to Major Rhodes, “Can you get that truck up and running?”

  “It should be fine,” Major Rhodes commented.

  “Good then.” Gabe raked his gaze at the others. “Come on all, let’s move out.”

  One by one they piled into the truck, and The Ark. Nia sat with her father in the back while Josephine rode shotgun in the front.

  “Hold on Pops,” Nia said as she laid her father's head in her lap. With the back of her hand she felt his forehead, it was becoming cold. “Gabe we have to hurry up, and do something he’s losing a lot of blood.”

  Gabe tried to focus on driving but he looked back briefly, “We have to stop the bleeding.” He glanced over to Josephine. “Hey Jose, look in the glove department there should be a first aid kit.”

  “Right,” She commented with a nod, and then she started digging into the dash. Josephine reached in, and pulled out many miscellaneous items, a badge, a phone, a shotgun, but not a first aid kit. “Gabe I can’t find it,” she yelled in frustration.

  “Keep looking,” Nia insisted. She looked down to her father, and saw him falling in and out of consciousness. “Come on stay with me.”

  “Found it!” Josephine shouted as she pulled a white box out of the dash and handed it to Nia in the back seat.

  “Good there should be a tube of a very ancient balm that should stop the bleeding quickly,” Gabe said in a calm tone as he continued to navigate the dirt road. They were only a few yards from the factory.

  Nia found the tube, and applied it on her father. “Why didn’t you tell us about this when you needed it?”

  Gabe chuckled, “I passed out before I could.”

  Josephine spotted something massive in the darkness. “Gabe what is that?” she asked.

  “What was what?” He asked now concerned. The archangel peered out of the window and saw nothing.

  As Nia bandaged her father’s wound, she looked out of the window. S
omething massive was moving up above them. A terrifying roar crackled through the air.

  Suddenly a nightmare dropped in front of them, one gaze was enough to make them all fall dead. Something landed with a tremendous crack amidst a fountain of reigning glass.

  Nia’s jaw dropped. “I think your robotic ape got out.”

  It looked directly into the beams of The Ark and roared. Cold red eyes glaring, glinting dark metal, and white fangs thick as tree trunks.

  Gabe spun the steering wheel to the right, flooring the gas pedal, he only caught a brief glimpse of the robotic ape as it made its way behind them. It roared and a tremendous thudding filled the archangel’s ear as the ape let out a ferocious cry. “No bueno, no bueno et al,” he shouted as he shifted The Ark into high gear

  It charged after both vehicles, it’s feet thundering as it raced along to grab at them. Gabe had to take this thing down but he wondered how.

  “Gabe get us out of here!” Josephine cried.

  There was a loud cracking sound coming from behind them, as the ape ripped a tree, and lunged it towards them. Gabe shuddered as the tree barely missed the others in the army truck.

  Suddenly Gabe smacked his cheek. “Oh of course! I forgot about that,” he said out loud.

  “Forgot about what?” Nia asked.

  “I can shoot missiles now. It’s a new upgrade from my buddy Kevin and the Techie Team.

  Nia smacked the seat.“Well hello, get to shooting bro.”

  The archangel struggled to access controls on the dashboard as the car bumped along the dirt road. He looked down for a mere second to find the button. “Um let’s see,” he muttered.

  “Gabe!” Josephine shouted.

  He looked up to barely jerk the car out of the direction of a tree. “Oops, my bad.”

  “Look, I didn’t go through all of this to die in a car accident!” Nia shouted.